The dart game of Cricket is known and has generally accepted rules for determining a winning player. Cricket requires each player to score three dart landings or "marks" in each of the dart board beds numbered 15-20 and in the bullseye bed. When a player scores three marks in a particular bed, that player is said to have "closed" that bed. If one player successfully closes a bed before the other player closes the same bed, each successive mark scored in that bed by the first player is added to that player's numerical total score. The first player may therefore continue to land darts in that bed and increase his total score until the second player is able to close the bed. The end of the game of Cricket occurs when a player has closed all of the dart board beds 15-20 and bullseye, and achieved a higher numerical score than his opponent(s). The first player to accomplish this is the winner.
In another version of the game of Cricket, the players are required to close each of the dart board beds numbered 15-20 and the bullseye bed. No numerical score is kept. The winner of this version of Cricket is the player who first successfully closes all the beds.
Traditionally, Cricket game scores are kept by "chalking" wherein the marks and numerical scores are recorded by simply writing with chalk on a chalk board. This method suffered from the shortcoming of being messy, often producing illegible scores. Thus, chalked scores are generally difficult to read at a distance. This is particularly true in smoky, dark bar or tavern environments where a great number of dart games are played. Furthermore, "chalking" requires the players to constantly erase and revise the numerical scores, subjecting the scores to possible human arithmetical errors.
Prior art devices have attempted to overcome the shortcomings of the "chalking" method for scoring a game of Cricket. For example, one known device uses, for each player, a string of 3 LED's associated with each of the dart beds 15-20 and the bullseye bed to indicate the number of marks made in each bed. However, in order to score Cricket, such a device requires significant circuitry to accommodate 42 LED's as well as numerous LED drivers. This circuitry increases the manufacturing cost of the device, requires high current to run, and results in a larger device not suitable for portable or hand-held use. Additionally, the strings of 3 LED's tend to blur at a distance making it difficult to determine the number of marks scored.